Garrick Porteous defeats fellow Brit

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – British Amateur champion Garrick Porteous defeated U.S. Amateur champion Matt Fitzpatrick 3 and 2 in the 17th annual Georgia Cup match at the Golf Club of Georgia.

The victory by Porteous, 24, the former University of Tennessee player, gave the British Amateur champions a 9-8 lead in the all-time series of the Georgia Cup, which was played in perfect spring weather on the Golf Club of Georgia’s Lakeside Course.

It was the first all-England match in the history of the Georgia Cup, which started in 1998 with U.S. Amateur champion Matt Kuchar emerging as the inaugural champion.

After Fitzpatrick, of Sheffield, England, took a 2-up lead through three holes, Porteous won four straight holes on the front nine – three with birdies – for a 2-up advantage and never trailed again in the match.

Porteous was 4-up with four holes to play when Fitzpatrick managed a brief rally by holing out for eagle from 116 yards at the 401-yard, par-4 15th to cut it to 3-down, but the match ended on the 16th with halved bogeys.

Both players will compete next week in the Masters. Porteous, from Morpeth, England, is turning pro immediately after competing at Augusta National, but Fitzpatrick, 19, will remain an amateur and also play in the U.S. Open and British Open.

“The Georgia Cup was just a great experience,” Porteous said. “When you look up on the wall [in the clubhouse] and see all the people who have played in this event, it was just a fantastic opportunity. The course was set up fantastically. The greens were flawless. It was great preparation for next week.”